This invention relates to an apparatus and method for compacting tires into a bundle. More particularly, this invention relates to a machine and apparatus for compacting a number of tires arranged in a side-by-side vertical row into a concentrated bundle for easy handling and disposition.
In recent years the problem of recycling or otherwise disposing of the common automobile tire has become an increasing problem in the United States and elsewhere in the world. With the increased emphasis on ecology and recycling, it is no longer possible to merely burn or bury automobile tires. Also, they are being recycled in a variety of applications and used for many other purposes. In addition to chopping up tires to form raw material for other processes, more and more applications are being found for bundles of tires in which the individual tires are fastened together to form artificial reefs and breakwaters for marinas and various other bulk/structural applications. In addition, as space for storage of used tires becomes more and more critical, the need to compress and compact tires into concentrated bundles has increased in order to save cubic storage space until proper disposition. Tires which are made to be very tough and resilient for their primary intended purpose present a formidable problem when it is desired to compact and bundle them into dense easily handled form.
Various hydraulically actuated machines have been proposed for compacting a number of tires into a bundle by a movable plate compressing a row of tires against a fixed plate. These machines generally have not been satisfactory from a safety and cylinder wear standpoint because of the long distances between plates when compacting a large number of tires. To be commercially successful, twenty to thirty tires must be compressed at a time which has meant machine lengths approaching thirty feet have been used with consequent cylinder wear and safety problems.